Sat Dec 29 20:18:21 2007

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Dixon helps Bulldogs win Liberty Bowl

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Memphis, TN (Sports Network) - Anthony Dixon plunged into the end zone from one yard out with 1:54 left, and Mississippi State held on to edge Central Florida, 10-3, in the Liberty Bowl, for the Bulldogs' first bowl win since 2000.

Dixon gained 86 yards on 24 carries for the Bulldogs (8-5), who finished their season by winning four of five after a 4-4 start, winning the first bowl for Mississippi State since a 43-41 win over Texas A&M in the 2000 Independence Bowl, and perhaps saving head coach Sylvester Croom's job. The Bulldogs had gone 9-25 in Croom's first three seasons on the job.

Wesley Carroll completed 8-of-18 passes for 39 yards with one interception to lead an ineffective Bulldogs air attack.

Kevin Smith, the nation's leading rusher and scorer, gained 119 yards, but it took him 35 carries. He finished the season with 2,567 yards on the ground, falling 61 yards shy of Barry Sanders' single-season rushing record, which he set at Oklahoma State in 1988. Kyle Israel was picked off three times for the Knights (10-3), completing 10-of-24 passes for 88 yards.

UCF saw it's seven-game win streak come to an end, and failed again in it's quest for a bowl win. The Knights have dropped both bowl games they have appeared in.

A Keith Fitzhugh interception of Israel gave the Bulldogs the ball at their 41-yard-line with 5:47 left, and the Mississippi State offense finally broke through for seven. Carroll had consecutive runs of nine yards each, and a Tony Burks end around went for 14 yards, putting the Bulldogs at the UCF three- yard-line.

Dixon followed that with a two-yard run, and a one-yard plunge over the top and into the end zone to break up the 3-3 tie with 1:54 left.

The Knights couldn't get a first down on their next drive, and Dixon and the Bulldogs made sure it was UCF's last possession as they ran the remaining 1:51 off to clinch their first bowl win in seven years.

The Mississippi State front seven kept Smith contained early, but the junior running back broke through for a 14-yard gain early in the second quarter that put the Knights at the Bulldogs 36-yard-line. He followed that with a five- yard gain, but the Mississippi State defense stiffened, and UCF settled for a 45-yard field goal by Michael Torres with 11:49 remaining.

An Israel interception set up the first Bulldogs score. On a 3rd-and-11 from the UCF 19-yard-line, Israel tried to go deep over the middle, but Derek Pegues read the quarterback's eyes and stepped in front of the receiver for the pick. Pegues found a wall of blockers down the sideline, and his 40-yard return gave the Bulldogs the ball at the UCF six.

The Mississippi State offense couldn't punch it in, though, and settled for a 22-yard field goal by Adam Carlson, tying the game at 3-3 with 6:02 left in the half.

Smith and the UCF offense finally mounted a decent drive late in the third quarter, moving 57 yards on 14 plays. The Bulldogs defense stuffed UCF at the 15, though, and Torres pushed his 32-yard field goal try badly to the right.

The Knights were able to grind out another drive when they got the ball back, but again Torres came up short. This time the kicker hooked his 37-yard try to the left, and the Bulldogs defense survived again.

Game Notes

The six combined points made it the lowest scoring first half in the history of the Liberty Bowl...UCF's only other bowl appearance was a 49-48 overtime loss to Nevada in the 2005 Hawaii Bowl...Mississippi State and UCF have met once before, a 35-28 Bulldogs win in 1997...UCF head coach George O'Leary and Mississippi State head coach Croom spent two seasons together on the San Diego Chargers coaching staff in the early 1990s.